Texas A&M Aggies Will Be Hurt by Lack of Spring Game

By Tim Letcher

Troy Taormina, USA TODAY SPORTS

The Texas A&M Aggies completed spring practice on Saturday with a scaled-down scrimmage at the Coolidge grass practice fields on campus. The Aggies did not get to play in a traditional scrimmage at Kyle Field due to the construction currently going on at the stadium.

In most cases, this would be absolutely no big deal. Coaches would tell you, as A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin did, that playing in front of the fans is a great thing for the fans, but not necessarily for the team.

And in most cases, Sumlin would be right. Playing a practice game in front of fans does not amount to much. But in this particular case, the Aggies will be hurt by not having a spring game in front of a large crowd. That’s because the Aggies are a team in transition. Gone is Johnny Manziel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who led the school’s transition to the Southeastern Conference.

Manziel always put on a good show, and the fans would have missed that aspect anyway. But the quarterbacks trying to replace Manziel could have used some live game action in front of a large crowd as one of them prepares to step into Manziel’s shoes.

Instead, it didn’t happen. And now, Kyle Allen, Kenny Hill and Matt Joeckel will only have what little experience they have gained in their limited time on the field to help them as one of them starts behind center this fall.

Not holding a spring football scrimmage in front of fans is normally not a big deal, but in this particular case, it could turn out to be huge.

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.